


Jealousy

by detectivetinsley



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Jealous Ryan is jealous, M/M, Ryan Bergara Loves Shane Madej, Shane Madej Has Major Heart Eyes For Ryan Bergara, This is cute I swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-16 03:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14803706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/detectivetinsley/pseuds/detectivetinsley
Summary: Ryan's jealous, but is it unfounded?





	Jealousy

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a cute little fic I've been working on. I hope you enjoy. Chime off in the comments below!

He isn’t sure when it started. 

He and Shane were on a case and were currently chowing down in a diner. There was nothing particularly _special_ about this diner. It was small and quaint, and one may even call it cute. The waitress was really nice. She had long dark hair and bright blue eyes and on a plus, she seemed to know a lot about the town. 

She seemed really _taken_ with Shane, too.

Which, of course, Ryan can’t blame her. Shane was a great guy. He was funny, he was smart, and he was pretty decent looking. 

However, every time she laughed at something he had said, Ryan could feel a coil of anger burning in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t know why and he didn’t dwell on it much. 

He assumed that, perhaps, he was just upset because she wasn’t giving him the same attention. 

That had to be it, right?

And of course, Shane was responding _enthusiastically_ , though part of Ryan couldn’t help but wonder if he even knew she was flirting with him. He seemed pretty fucking surprised when she slipped him a piece of paper, probably with her number on it. She wasn’t very discreet about it, either.

Shane looked at her retreating figure and looked back at Ryan, looking like a spooked animal. 

Ryan smiled when Shane showed him the paper and laughed along with him when he said it was absolutely fucking _ridiculous_. 

“Why do you think she did that?” Shane asked, glancing between TJ and Ryan. TJ snickered behind the video camera and Ryan did the best he could not to glare at him.

“Uh, she wants you to call her?” Ryan prompted, raising an eyebrow. He still felt that coil of anger, but he squashed it quickly, drinking the last of his coca-cola. 

Shane just shrugged, evidently not caring all that much.

Ryan tried not to feel a hint of victory when they left and Shane had discarded the paper in the garbage. He’s not sure why he feels happy about it – Shane was newly single and he should want his best friend not to be beat up over his former relationship, and yet… Ryan can’t help how he feels. It makes him feel guilty, too, so he does his best to shrug it off and continues on their hunt as per usual.

Nothing happens out of ordinary during the investigation. They banter and joke, and push each other almost to their limits. It was good. Everything was good.

_Until it wasn’t_.

It happens again a week later.

He and Shane went out for drinks with a couple of their coworkers and were having a great time. Shane squeezed himself next to Ryan and gave him a smile. It made Ryan’s stomach flip and he cursed himself for it. He isn’t sure what it means _(either that or he’s just denying it – which, let’s be honest, he totally is)_ so he shrugs it off and does his best to enjoy himself. 

_(He doesn’t notice Shane looking at him strangely or how Shane doesn’t seem to want to leave his side whenever someone mentions going to play pool or something. He doesn’t and maybe if he did, he’d understand everything right then. But Ryan isn’t as observant as he liked to believe and failed to notice any of this.)_  
Ryan and Steven are in a heated discussion about something – something that escapes his mind fairly quickly, when a young, short woman with blonde hair skips – she literally _SKIPS_ – over to their table. Ryan sees her in the corner of his eye and doesn’t pay much mind until she turns her attention towards Shane.

Shane, who is probably one of the nicest people on the planet, engages in conversation and Ryan, the ever-so-suddenly-observant person he is, notices she lightly flicks her hair over her shoulder and laughs at something Shane has said. The hot coil of anger swells into the pit of his stomach and he hates himself for it. He doesn’t understand why he’s upset, either.

Is it because Shane seems to be getting all the attention or is it something else?

Ryan tries not to think about the _“something else”_ and lowers his gaze.

At this point, he’s zoned completely out of all conversation and is only brought back by Steven, who nudges him with his foot under the table.

“You alright there, Bergara? You look like you’ve reached another realm.”

Ryan blinks, looking up at Steven, and grimaces with a half shrug. He misses the look Steven throws at him as he gazes between him and Shane – he’s not quite _that_ observant, so it seems. 

“Sorry, I guess I zoned out. What were you saying again?”

They continue on their conversation and Ryan does his best to ignore the fact that the girl is still there. It isn’t until about ten minutes later does she finally leave and Ryan finally chances to look at her as she goes and – _wow_ , she looks disappointed. 

When Ryan turns to Shane with a raised eyebrow, the taller man just shrugged and takes a drink of his beer.

Ryan, of course, brings Shane into the conversation and everything is fine once again. They laugh and enjoy each other’s company. Ryan misses the looks their coworkers share between each other. 

Apparently, Ryan is only observant when it comes to Shane – and not even always then.

About an hour later, Andrew and Steven excuse themselves and head out for the night. After that, everyone else slowly begins to dwindle until suddenly, it’s only Ryan and Shane left at the bar.

They’re both nursing newly made drinks at this time, too, clearly with no intention of leaving just yet. 

They fall into an easy conversation. They talk about their upcoming adventures with Unsolved and even discuss Ruining History, in which Ryan proposes a few ideas that Shane writes down on a piece of paper he seemingly pulls out of his ass. 

As the bar begins to close, they head out together, comfortable in each other’s presence. _This_ , Ryan realizes with a jolt, _is what home feels like_.

“Do you mind if I crash at your place?” Shane asks as he stumbles on his way out onto the street and it makes Ryan laugh softly. Shane drank more than Ryan had and it was starting to become a little more obvious.

“Nah, you can stay. I don’t mind.” He agreed and they contact an Uber to take them to Ryan’s place.

They don’t talk much on the way to Ryan’s apartment, but once the door is closed and they’re sitting on the couch, turning on the television, they finally speak.

“So, what was up with that girl at the bar?” Ryan hates that he just asked that, because he really hadn’t wanted to know… _Drunk!Ryan begged to differ_.

Shane, who was currently curled up in on himself, cuddling up with Ryan’s dogs, looks up at him in surprise before shrugging his shoulders. “What about her?” He doesn’t seem to give any flying fucks about her, but Ryan frowns nonetheless.

“She was flirting with you, Shane.”

Something apparently lights up in Shane’s brain because he suddenly smiles and leans towards Ryan. “And?” He was prompting Ryan to continue and Ryan really did not like the look on Shane’s face in that moment. He looked like a serial killer, almost.

Ryan tentatively licks at his lips and looks away. _(He doesn’t notice Shane’s eyes trailing from his eyes to his mouth, either.)_ His heart his thudding loudly in his chest and Ryan has no idea why. “I just…” He clears his throat and forces himself to meet Shane’s taunting gaze. “I thought she was cute, you know? She clearly thought you were, too.”

Shane hums and leans away from Ryan, allowing Ryan to finally fucking breathe. 

“Were you jealous, Ry? Cause if you wanted her number, I’m sure she would have given it to you.”

Ryan frowns, but Shane continues before he can speak.

“She wanted me to go have a drink with her and her friends and bring you and the others along, but I told her no, because I’d much rather spend time with you.” There’s a light tease in his tone and Ryan finally manages to look back at Shane once again and sees amusement flickering in his gaze. 

“Shut up, Shane.” Ryan huffs.

Shane just shrugs again. “You didn’t need to be jealous. I’m sure if I hadn’t turned her down, her or one of her friends would have—“

Ryan cuts him off.

“I wasn’t jealous _of_ you, Shane. I don’t care about the girl.”

Shane blinks.

Blinks again.

And blinks one more time for good measure.

“ _Oh_.”

Ryan shrugs. “Look, I’m gonna go to bed. It’s 2 AM and there’s nothing on Netflix I want to watch. You can either sleep here with the dogs or crash in bed with me. It’s up to you, but I’m going to bed.”

Ryan doesn’t give Shane a chance to reply before he abruptly stands up and leaves to his bedroom. He feels eyes pinned on him the entire way. He lies in bed in silence for a few minutes before he feels his bed shift as Shane curls up in bed beside him. They don’t speak for a long moment until Shane finally breaks the silence barrier.

“Your couch is too small.”

Ryan snorts. “You’re just too long.” 

“ _Touché_.” Shane hums.

They fall silent again and Ryan tries not to think about what he’d said before leaving the living room. He was walking on thin ice and he was slowly beginning to realize what was going on with him. He hadn’t been lying when he said he wasn’t jealous of Shane… he’s starting to think that maybe he wasn’t jealous of the girl… which could only mean one thing. 

He _likes_ Shane.

_Oh_.

_Oh no_. 

“Goodnight,” Ryan murmurs and turns to his side, staring into the darkness of his bedroom. This wasn’t good.

“Goodnight, Ry.” Shane murmurs back and Ryan does his very best to ignore his stomach flipping once again.

_Oh no, is right._ Just as Ryan begins to freak out, just as his mind plays over and over all the times he’s even so much as looked at Shane, the other man in the bed speaks and startles him out of his reverie. “So, if you weren’t jealous of me, what _were_ you jealous of?” 

_Goddammit, Shane_.

Ryan slowly turns over to look at Shane. Shane was on his side and looking at Ryan. Their eyes met and Ryan was struggling not to freak out. Why did Ryan have to go and catch feelings for his best friend? What kind of underrated bullshit is this? This isn’t a cheesy romantic comedy! There is absolutely nothing good that can come out of this.

He shrugs.

“I wasn’t jealous, Shane. I mean, not really? I guess I just wanted someone to hit on me for once? I don’t know, it’s stupid. Forget I said anything.”

Silence falls between them again and had Ryan not been looking at Shane, he would have thought the older man would have fallen asleep. Instead, Shane was just looking at him with this quizzical look on his face – like something in his head just wasn’t adding up.

Finally, Shane speaks.

“You… want someone to hit on you?” He questions slowly and Ryan’s face heats up from embarrassment. God, this was not how he wanted this night to end.

He sighs and looks away, instead turning his attention to the ceiling. There was those glow in the dark stars on his ceiling – something the past tenants had left there; something  
Ryan never thought to get rid of.

“I told you it was fucking stupid. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Me and Helen have been broken up for three months now. I don’t know what I want.” Their breakup wasn’t bad – it was on mutual grounds and he hadn’t been too bummed out about it. Sure, Shane did come over to his apartment and they ate ice cream and watched stupid, cheesy horror films all night – Sara had told them they were a couple of teenage girls for doing it, but Shane just stuck his finger up at her and moved on. 

It’s another reason why Ryan loved him, even in a platonic sense. He didn’t care about what people thought of him. He just wanted to make people happy.

He made Ryan happy.

He _always_ made Ryan happy.

_Fuck_.

“Maybe you just need to get laid, Ryan Bergara.” Shane replies finally and it breaks away all the tension that had been built up. They burst into obnoxious laughter.

Ryan would fall asleep with a smile on his face, with no worries until morning came. 

When morning did finally come, as it always did, they fell into an easy routine. 

Of course, easy routine suggested hangover food and stupid movies to keep their heads from exploding. Once the hangovers finally subsided, Ryan took a chance and asked Shane if he wanted to go out to lunch – or maybe see a movie, or maybe both. It _wasn’t_ a date, because they were just friends, yet when Shane agreed to both with a smile on his face, Ryan knew that if his time were to come at that moment, he would die happy. It was disgusting. 

“Mind if I go back to my place and get changed though? I don’t think any of your pants would fit me, Ry.” Yet, he was wearing one of Ryan’s shirts. Ryan squinted at him, finally taking notice of the fact. When Shane realized Ryan had noticed, he quickly explained. “I woke up and threw up this morning. I figured you wouldn’t mind if I stole one of your t-shirts. I promise I’ll give it back.”

All Ryan heard from that was _‘I stole one of your t-shirts’_ and suddenly realized that he didn’t want it back. God, all it took was one night to realize he had feelings for his best friend, and suddenly _everything_ was about him.

(But, now that he thinks back on it, everything always was about Shane to begin with.)

(It was _always_ Shane.)

( _Always_.)

Ryan waves him off. “It’s fine. Wear it. It looks better on you, anyways.”

Shane throws him a sheepish smile. “Thanks, Ry.”

Ryan clears his throat, feeling his cheeks heat up from embarrassment. “Anyways, I’m going to shower, if you wanna wait? Then we can head out to your place and you can get ready there?”

Shane agreed and off Ryan went.

Shane took out the dogs while Ryan showered and got ready and when he was finally done, they headed out almost instantaneously. Ryan drove them to Shane’s apartment building and followed him inside while he got ready. While waiting for him, Ryan crashed on the couch and literally fell asleep without meaning to. He would wake up about forty-five minutes later to Shane poking him in the face.

“Earth to Ryan? Come in Ryan!” The first thing Ryan noticed about him was he smelled really good – the second thing he noticed was that Shane was still wearing Ryan’s shirt.

He tried not to let that get to his head.

(Too much.) 

Ryan didn’t ask him about it and off they went.

They were going to get lunch first and then a movie and Ryan will swear up and down that it wasn’t a date.

(It was.)

They stopped at a local diner and sat across from each other. When the waitress came over, she eyed them both with a brilliant smile and asked them for their drinks and then off she went to get them. Ryan didn’t pay her any mind, because Shane didn’t seem at all interested and it eased up his nerves a little bit. Besides, he reckons partial of what Shane had said last night was true – he probably did need to get laid. 

“So, what are you getting?” Shane asked after a long moment of silence. The waitress had brought them their drinks and left them again when they said they weren’t ready just yet.  
Ryan glances up at him as he speaks and shrugs slowly. “This double bacon burger with guac looks pretty good.”

Shane agreed, though he himself decided to get a green chili burger that made both of their mouths water. The waitress returned to take their orders and left again. They fell into an easy conversation, laughing and talking as they waited for their food to arrive.

Finally, the waitress, paired with a young man, possibly in his early twenties, appears with their food. The waitress, her name tag says her name is Lucy, introduces them to Matt who was to finish assisting them with anything they may need while she went on her lunch. 

Before they left, Matt turned to Shane and smiled hesitantly. Ryan watched the exchange quietly.

“The green chili burger is my favorite. You’ll have to tell me how you like it.” 

Ryan placed a hot French fry into his mouth.

“Yeah? I will. I’m not really into hot stuff, but I figured I’d give it a shot.” Shane catches Ryan’s eyes for a moment, a hint of mischief there that Ryan did not like.

“You don’t? Well, I hope this changes your mind.” Matt smiled and Ryan felt like he was going to be sick.

_This is so fucking stupid_ , Ryan thought. _Why the fuck am I jealous? I don’t even have a fucking reason for this bullshit._ Ryan was close to banging his head on the table, to try and destroy every and all feelings of jealousy. This is what he gets for falling in love with his best friend, he supposes. _Jesus_.

“Alright, Matty, leave the boys to eat. Come on.” Lucy pulled Matt away and they were alone once again.  
Ryan let out a breath he wasn’t aware he’d been holding. 

Shane noticed and quirked up an eyebrow, taking a drink of his soda slowly. He then placed the drink on the table and spoke. “You know… Ry, had I known you were going to be this jealous every time we go out, I’d have suggested we go back to my place and Netflix and Chill… if you know what I mean.” He was teasing Ryan, obviously, but his words sent a shiver down his spine regardless. Also, the wink Shane threw at him didn’t help much, either. 

Ryan’s face lit up like a Christmas tree and he spluttered over his mouthful of food. He coughed and swallowed, his ears ringing from what his best friend had just said.

“Is… wait— _wait_ , was that… was that a flirtation?” He’s probably wrong, but hey, the way Shane had worded it and the straight face he was giving Ryan didn’t give him much else to think.

Shane just laughed out loud and leaned over the table. “Yeah… you know, I was really hoping you’d catch on at some point.” 

Ryan would have thought Shane was just joshing him, if it hadn’t been that it was _Shane_ and Shane would never play with someone like that, and also the fact Shane stretched over to where Ryan was sat and grabbed his hand, entangling their fingers together. He looked sheepish and adorable, and? _Maybe even a little nervous? Wow_.  
Ryan snorts slowly and looks down at their hands, watching as Shane presses circles into his skin. “Oh,” he replies, not sure what else to say.  
Shane just grinned at him and held onto his hand for a few more minutes before letting go so they could both eat. When they were finished and Ryan (hey, he’s the one who asked him to come!) paid for the bill, they went straight to the car. They didn’t speak as they climbed into it and didn’t speak when he started it up. It wasn’t a horrible silence nor was it awkward, but it was definitely something. 

Ryan didn’t drive off immediately.

Instead, he turned to Shane who was absently staring at his hands placed in his lap.

“Hey, Shane?” Ryan heard himself ask.

Shane slowly looked up at his best friend and smiled. He looked nervous again and it gave Ryan all the courage he needed in that moment.

“What’s up, Ryan?”

“Can I kiss you?”

A wide smile spread across Shane’s lips, his cheeks tinted pink. He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut short when Ryan didn’t even bother to wait. Instead, he unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over. He pressed the palms of his hands on either side of Shane’s face and tentatively pressed a kiss to Shane’s lips. It wasn’t like how he imagined, but then again, when was anything ever how he imagined? He felt Shane inhale sharply before responding in kind. Shane’s arms wrapped around Ryan’s torso and pulled him in closer as he finally started to return the kiss.

It was a short kiss. It didn’t last much longer than a few seconds, but when they broke finally away and looked at each other, they wore matching smiles and pink cheeks. Ryan didn’t think he’d ever been this happy in his entire fucking life, as cheesy as that is.

Shane chuckled, pressing his forehead against Ryan’s. He spoke first.

“Oh, Ryan Bergara…” He hummed and Ryan narrowed his eyes at him, suspicious. “Don’t look at me like that.” Shane laughed. “Apparently, jealousy makes my favorite ghoul boy brave, _hm_?”

Ryan snorted. “I wasn’t…” Shane gave him a pointed look. “Okay, okay… maybe I was… _a little_ jealous.”

Shane laughed again and this time, Ryan joined him. Once they settled, Ryan patted Shane’s cheeks. “I’m going to kiss you again,” he whispered and Shane smiled, nodding. They may have had an awkward make-out session in the car – Shane was too long limbed and made it hard to move around, but they seemed to make due. After struggling to consume each other for a while, however, they decided it was best to head to the movie and slow down a bit.  
After the movie, they go back to Ryan’s apartment, make-out some more, and fall asleep on the couch in another awkward position. But honestly? Ryan couldn’t have had it any other way.

Shane was right.

Jealousy did make him brave and for once, he’s glad it got in the way.


End file.
